|
By Michael Holden
LONDON
(Reuters) - Britain Thursday warned the public to stay away
from the countryside to prevent the spread of a foot-and-mouth
disease outbreak which has led to a world ban on exports
of British livestock and animal products.
Britain's
Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said it was urgent the government
swiftly got control of a disease which has sparked alarm
across the world since its discovery Tuesday.
``This
is absolutely terrible. We have got to get on top of this
as quickly as we can and get back to our disease free status
which the United Kingdom has enjoyed for decades and get
back to normal trade,'' Brown told Sky News.
``We
need to trace every single movement into the abattoir where
this was discovered, to check every farm and if there's
any suspicion that there is foot-and-mouth present, the
farm has to be quarantined.
``I
know these restrictions are harsh but it is absolutely necessary
to get this disease under control.''
The
National Farmers Union said it was advising the public not
to head to the countryside in case they inadvertently spread
the disease.
``Walkers
have to take a lot of responsibility and farmers do not
want them walking aimlessly around the countryside,'' an
NFU spokeswoman told Reuters.
``People
should stay away. Because it is an airborne disease it so
easily spread on clothing.''
Characterized
by the development of blisters in the mouths and on the
feet of cloven hoofed animals, the disease can be fatal
to animals. It is harmless to humans.
The
disease has been recorded in Europe over the past decade,
and is widespread in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and parts
of South America.
``This
outbreak has potentially catastrophic implications for the
whole of the British livestock industry,'' said Ben Gill,
president of the National Farmers' Union.
``British
farmers have had more than enough to deal with in the last
few years without this latest blow,'' he said.
The
foot-and-mouth blow struck just as Britain's beef sector
had all but recovered last year from its mad cow crisis
with consumption rising by four percent over 1999 to reach
955,000 tons.
Restriction
Zone Extended Officials have extended movement restriction
zone around the abattoir near Brentwood, in southeast England,
where the disease was found in 28 pigs Tuesday, to 10 miles
in a bid to ensure the disease was contained.
Another
farm in the southwest English county of Gloucestershire
is also under investigation while farms in the southern
English county of Buckinghamshire, Northern Ireland and
the Isle of Wight, off England's southern coast, where some
of the animals came from, have been put under movement restrictions.
Ireland's
Department of Agriculture said it was investigating a lorry
in County Cavan amid concerns it could have been contaminated
with the disease.
The
lorry crossed into Cavan, near the border with Northern
Ireland, from the north, having made a delivery to the British
abattoir where the outbreak was first found.
Britain
has effectively put itself in quarantine by banning exports
of live animals and products, and farmers' leaders warned
that their industry faced catastrophe if the disease wasn't
stamped out quickly.
News
of the outbreak led the European Union (news - web sites),
the United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Singapore,
Ireland as well as other countries to announce crackdowns
on British livestock and animal imports.
Australia,
one of the few foot and mouth disease-free nations in the
world, also even tightened already-stringent controls on
the entry of human passengers from Britain, focusing on
what they bring with them and any pre-travel farm visits.
Experts
say foot-and-mouth is a disease that knows no boundaries
as it can be spread through the air or transmitted through
urine, milk, semen and saliva.
``If
this gets a hold there are going to be very firm restrictions
in place indeed which is why we are acting as promptly as
we are and as thoroughly as we are to try and get it under
control,'' Brown said.
British
agriculture and health officials said foot-and-mouth disease,
which affects pigs, cattle, sheep and goats, rarely endangered
people.
|
